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WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP) — Frustrated veterans and their friends and families gathered at the World War II and Lincoln Memorials on the National Mall, pushing past barriers to protest the memorial’s closing under the government shutdown before turning their attentions to the White House.

Black metal barricades have lined the front of the memorial since the government closed Oct. 1. That’s when more than 300 National Park Service workers who staff and maintain the National Mall were furloughed.

Some protesters carried the barricades, that look like bicycle racks, more than a mile to the White House and stacked them up outside the gates, confronting police in riot gear. Some protesters carried signs reading “Impeach Obama.”

Police moved the protesters back to set up barricades between the crowd and the White House gate. Some demonstrators chanted “shame on you” at the officers. Others chanted “You work for us,” according to WNEW’s Heather Curtis.

Many of the frustrated contingent blame President Barack Obama for the closure of the memorials.

An armored police vehicle also was sent to the World War II Memorial where some demonstrators lingered.

“Many in our group have decided that enough is enough. We are Americans. We are proud of our heritage and our service… We will not stand by and let the U.S. government dishonor the legacy of sacrifice of the generations before us,” according to a statement on the group’s website.

Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah, along with former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, were part of the demonstrators on the National Mall.

Cruz and Lee are among the tea party-backed lawmakers who refused to keep the government operating unless Obama agreed to defund the nation’s health care overhaul.

“Let me ask a simple question,” Cruz told the crowd of hundreds that gathered beginning at 9 a.m. “Why is the federal government spending money to erect barricades to keep veterans out of this memorial?”

As the crowd entered the memorial plaza, they chanted “Tear down these walls” and “You work for us.” They sang “God bless America” and other songs.

“Our vets have proven that they have not been timid, so we will not be timid in calling out any who would use our military, our vets, as pawns in a political game,” Palin told the crowd.

The memorial has become a political symbol in the bitter fight between Democrats and Republicans over who is to blame for the shutdown. Earlier rallies have focused on allowing access for World War II veterans visiting from across the country.

Sunday’s rally was more political. A protest by truckers converged with a rally by a group called the Million Vet March at the memorial. Participants cut the plastic links between metal barriers at the National Park Service site and pushed them aside.

Groups of tractor-trailers from the “Truckers Ride for the Constitution,” a protest that has taken place throughout the region all weekend, converged with the memorial protesters to show their support for the veterans.

District of Columbia police said the crowd was dispersing by 1 p.m., about four hours after the protests began. U.S. Park Police said there had been one arrest at the Lincoln Memorial for assault, but it was not related to the protest, said Lt. Pamela Smith.

Jim Weller of Allentown, Pa., said he came to protest “to stand up for my rights.”

“My father was a World War II veteran, shot down in the Philippines in 1945, and for them to shut down this memorial is absurd,” he said.

Cindy Good had a message for lawmakers.

“They need to listen to the American people,” she said, “and try to work together in Congress to get this whole thing worked out.”

After the protest, U.S. Park Police worked to secure the World War II Memorial again, and Smith said they were still closed because of the shutdown.

The Park Police officers, who have been guarding the memorials amid protests over their closure, are not being paid during the government shutdown.

Chris Cox, also known as the one-man Memorial Militia, exclusively told WNEW last week he felt obligated to clean up the National Mall in preparation of the march, as the Park Service employees normally tasked with maintaining the area sit idle during the shutdown.

(TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)